Government agency launches health IT webpage for long-term care providers

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has unveiled a new webpage with information and resources for long-term and post-acute (LTPAC) providers.

“We're beginning to develop resources for LTPAC providers,” ONC spokesman Peter Ashkenaz told McKnight's. He advised providers to bookmark the page and visit often, to see how IT is being used in the sector and access new materials that will be posted.

The webpage stresses the importance of health IT in facilitating care transitions under new healthcare models. It also includes information about funding and initiatives, such as the Challenge Grant program, through which long-term care providers acquire and utilize technology.

An issue brief, a stakeholder report and a Challenge Grant progress report are among the resources currently posted.

The ONC announced the webpage Monday, which was the opening day of the LTPAC Health IT Collaborative's Long-Term and Post-Acute Summit in Baltimore. The keynote speaker was Doug Fridsma, M.D., Ph.D., chief science officer and director of the Office of Science and Technology, Office of the National Coordinator for HIT.

Public sector agencies such as ONC should play a significant role in defining a standards and interoperability framework for health IT, but government should be “led by the industry” in an incremental process of defining standards that respond to “real world problems,” Fridsma said.

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